On the aniversary of the battle of Vimmy Ridge let us take a moment to remember those who fell for our freedom...1 in 8 Canadians sent into battle made it home, and the others don't even have head stones as they lay at the bottom of the sea.April 9th 1917to April 9th 2007, 90th anivesray

Humm I never heard of this Battle untli now. I just looked it up here is some Info on it :

On April 2, 1917, the Canadian Corps initiated the largest artillery barrage in history up to that point. They shelled the German trenches for a week, using over one million shells. The German artillery pieces were hidden behind the ridge, but by observing the sound and light from their firing, the Canadians were able to locate and destroy about 83% of the German guns. The Canadians also made many night trench raids during this week, although General Arthur Currie thought this was a stupid risk and a waste of men. The German troops called this period the "Week of Suffering". The attack was so loud, the sound of guns could be heard plainly in southern England, some one hundred miles from the front.[2]

At dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, the 27,000-man Canadian Corps attacked. The first wave of about 15,000 Canadian troops attacked positions defended by roughly 5,000 Germans, followed by the second wave of 12,000 Canadians to meet 3,000 German reserves. Nearly 100,000 men in total were to take and hold the ridge.[3] The first wave advanced behind a creeping barrage, known specifically for the battle as the Vimy Glide. This tactic had been used earlier by the British at the Battle of the Somme, but there it had outpaced the soldiers. The Canadians perfected the technique. The troops walked across no man's land, just behind a continuous line of shells (an improvement over previous battles, in which both sides had often shelled their own troops). On the experience of advancing under heavy machine gun fire from the rear, Corporal Gus Sivertz of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles said,[4]

“ We were dancing a macabre dance as our nerves just vibrated to the thousands of shells and machine gun bullets... whizzing over. I felt that if I had put my finger up, I should have touched a ceiling of sound. ”

Several new and untested methods of counter-battery fire were also used successfully at the start of the battle. This disabled a large portion of the German artillery and protected the advancing infantry. The Canadians also used a new technique, indirect fire with machine guns, which pinned German troops down in their trenches and provide cover for their own troops.

After less than two hours, three of the four Canadian divisions had taken their objectives; the 4th Division, however, was held up by machine gun nests on the highest point of the ridge, known as Hill 145. The 87th Battalion suffered 50% casualties. The 85th Nova Scotia Highlanders, who had been intended to function in a supply and construction role, were sent in as reinforcements and the hill was captured by the end of the day.

It is said that upon learning of the victory, a French soldier exclaimed, "C'est impossible!" ("It's impossible!"), and upon learning it was the Canadians who had won it, replied "Ah! les Canadiens! C'est possible!" ("Ah! The Canadians! It is possible!"). [5]